When the Duchess of
Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve
ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her
Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever marriages
she can. Eight assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks
firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of
Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and
is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Perhaps among the gentlemen
gathered for the duchess’s house party, she will find a suitable husband?

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as
a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision
to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace,
Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a
masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again.

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte
Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job,
Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of
Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he
be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to
please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and
his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes
his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the
home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff,
Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a
man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of
a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke
cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs
for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach
their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who
is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle.
Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong
bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent
racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly
never expected to find love...

Book creation ratings
-- Max. total of 30 possible --

Overall total, out of
30 -- 26

-- Story &
characters -- 7

-- Cover & title
-- 10

-- Editing &
formatting -- 9

* based on a 1-10
scale with: 1-4, poor; 5-7, good; 8-10,
very good.*

The review --

This is a wonderfully
Christmassy box set by a group of authors known as The Bluestocking Belles, and
they write historical romance, and they do it very well. This was a fun box set
to read.

The stories all center
around a holiday ball that this one lady is having, and woven through the
stories, is this mother cat and her holiday kittens, which enchant several of
our characters.

There is one story I
would make mention of in a cautionary way, in that it departs from the
traditional historical romance format. It has a lesbian theme that includes the
2 main characters of the story. The book is Artemis, by Jessica Cale. I read
the beginning of the book, then began to get a suspicion of where it was going;
then I skipped to the end and confirmed my hunch. The whole format that the
story is based upon just doesn't work for me. But I wanted to mention it.

All the rest of the
stories are your traditional historical romance, and are great. Woven inbetween
each book in the set, is another book that tells the tale of her Lady's helper,
and the chef. I'm sure you'd like to know if I had a favorite in the set, and
that's hard to choose, since they're all so good. But choose I did. My favorite
would have to be: The Bluestocking and
the Barbarian, by Jude Knight.